Antenna tower supporting base



May 5, 1953 c. E. KEssLER ANTENNA TOWER SUPPORTING BASE 2 saEETs--SHEET 1' Filed Oct. 16, 1950 o a e May 5, 1953 c. E. KEssLER ANTENNA TOWER SUPPORTING BASE 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 16, 1950 V, L .um

Patented May 5, 1,953

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANTENNA TOWER SUPPORTING BASE Carl E. Kessler, Mineral Wells, Tex. Application October 16, 1950, Serial No. 190,413 3 Claims. (Cl. 248-183) This invention relates to an antenna tower supporting base.

In the erection of antenna supporting towers, it has been found expedient to provide a base for the tower, which base is adapted for support on and -connection to some form of surface.

y Since it has been found advisable for maximumantenna efficiency that the tower be mounted substantially vertically and that same be capable of rotation about a vertical axis, it is highly desirable that the base be capable of supporting the tower in a vertical position regardless of the contour of surface upon which the tower is tobe erected.

' The desirability of such type of base has heretofore been recognized and various forms of construction thereof have been proposed. In such prior proposed constructions, however, various interchange of parts was necessary in the erection of towers on surfaces having different contours which not only required more time and effort in the erection of a tower, but also failed to provide for free rotation of the tower on its vertical axis in all conditions of erection thereof.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a base which is universal in its application `torsurfaces of various contours and for supporting a tower in vertical position ,from any of such surfaces with capability of free rotationabout its axis;

A further object of the invention is to provide an antenna tower supporting base which is operative to support the tower in vertical position from surfaces at angles at and between the horizontal and vertical without interchange of any parts entering into the construction of the base.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a base of the above noted general character which is durable, efficient in operation, and which is capable of construction at relatively low cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of the improved base in accordance with a preferred structural embodiment thereof, the view being observed substantially in the planes of the broken line I-I on Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the base.

Fig. 3 is an elevational View as observed from the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the tower supporting plate.

Fig. 5 is a view on reduced scale showing the application of the base to a vertical surface.

Fig. 6 is a view showing the application of the base to an inclined or sloped surface.

Fig. 7 is a View showing the application of the base to gable surfaces.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, I0 andll designate a pair of legs which include horizontal portions I 2 and I3. The portions I2 and I3 are pivotally disposed within cylindrical portions I4 of feet I5 which, by the above noted construction, have a hinged connection with the legs I U and II, and feet l5 are provided with fastener receiving apertures I6.

The legs I0 and II jointly comprise upwardly converging portions which merge into vertical portions Il, and the legs are preferably constructed from round steel stock. The vertical portions Il of the legs are welded to the outer surface of a cylindrical bearing member I8 which may suitably be a short length of pipe.

Rotatably supported within the member I8 is a cylindrical extension I9 of a member 20 bearing on the upper end of member I8 and having a pair of upwardly extending, laterally spaced ears 2| which are co-axially apertured as at 22 for receiving a pivot pin 23 provided with a cotter 24.

The pivotpin 23 extends through an aperture 25 in the adjacent rounded end of a member 26 whose opposite rounded end is provided with an aperture 2l at right angles to aperture 25 and through which extends a pivot pin 28 provided with a cotter 28.

Laterally spaced ears 29 depending from a. member 30 are axially apertured and through which the bolt 28 extends. The member 3!) is tapped at 3| for the reception of a bolt 32 which extends through a washer 33 and an aperture 35 in the tower supporting plate 34.

While the member 28 is rotatable in the member I8, means is provided to prevent such rotation when desired as, for example, upon raising of the tower. Such means preferably comprises a tapped aperture 38 in the lower end of extension I9 for receiving a bolt 3'! which extends through a washer 38 bearing against the lower end of member I8. With this construction, tightening of the bolt 31 will frictionally bind the member 20 against the upper end of member I8 as well as the washer 38 against the lower end of member I8, whereby rotation will be prevented.

A suitable cover 39 is the leg portions I1 and any suitable means.

preferably applied over secured in position by From the above it will be seen that the members 2U, 2G and 35i with their pivotal connections 23 and 28 provide a universal joint whereby the upper plate supporting surface of member 3i] may readily be positioned at Various angles relative to the plane of the surface of member 2U bearing on the member I8, whereby the tower supporting plate 3ft may be positioned horizontally with the axis of member I8 at various angles.

The plate 34 is adapted to support an antenna tower T and by the mounting 30 to 33 the plate is rotatably supported on the member 3U for rotation of the tower about its vertical axis regardless of the angular position of member I8.

In Fig. 5, the base is shown as being supported l on a vertical surface o by means of fasteners extending through apertures I6 in feet I5 and into the surface c. In this position, member l26 is disposed at right angles to the axis of member I8 whereby the plate 34 is disposed horizontally for supporting the tower T in a vertical position. In Fig. 6 the base is shown as being supported on an inclined or sloping surface s and in which position the member 26 is disposed obliquely to the axis of member I8 and with member 30 disposed for rotatably supporting plate 34 in a horizontal position.

In Fig. 7 the base is shown as being applied to a gable or roof-like surface which is accomplished simply by pivoting the feet I5 on the legs IB and l I and securing same to the opposite slopes of the surface.

Should it be desired to position the feet I5 in positions at right angles to that shown in Fig. 5, the member 28 may readily be rotated through an angle of 90 whereby member 2li may then be pivoted to its vertical position.

From the above description it will be seen that the base structure according to the present invention is readily adapted Vfor connection to surfaces of various inclinations without any eX- change of parts and that the tower T may be vertically supported regardless of the angularity of the surface or surfaces to which the feet I5 are connected.

While I have disclosed my invention in accordance with a single specific structural embodiment thereof, such is to be considered as illustrative only, and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims,

What I claim and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

1. A tower-supporting base comprising an elongated cylindrical bearing member, a plurality of leg members having upper end portions parallel with the axis of said bearing member and secured to the outer wall thereof, a member supported by said cylindrical bearing member for rotation about the axis thereof, a second member having a pivotal connection with said rst member about an axis normal to the rst named axis, a third member having a pivotal connection with said second member about an axis normal to the second named axis, a tower-supporting plate removably supported upon said third member, and adjustable means operatively associated with said bearing member and said first member for selectively locking said first member against rotation Vin the bearing member.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said rst member includes a portion overhanging said cylindrical bearing member and said upper end portions of the leg members, and a cylindrical cover member co-axial with said bearing member surrounding said upper end portions of the leg members and disposed beneath said overhanging portion.

3. The structure according to claim ,1, wherein said plurality of leg members comprises a generally triangular member at each side of a plane including the said rst and third axes and diverging laterally thereof, and a generally rectangular anchorlng plate having one edge thereof pivotally connected to the base of each of said triangular members.

CARL E. KESSLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 224,799 Severson Feb. 24, 1880 824,479 I-Ialvorsen June 26, 1906 887,663 Lee May 12, 1908 1,186,992 Jargstorf June 1'3, 1916 1,324,934 `hand Dec. 16, 1919 1,517,251 Schaaf Dec, 2, 1924 2,439,062 Shur Apr. .6, 1948 2,500,048 Stoiber Mar. rI, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 569,504 Great Britain of 1,944 

